Delustered plastic thread or textile



Dec. 1, 1964 A. J. TLAMICHA 3,158,983

DELUSTEREID- PLAST IC THREAD OR TEXTILE Original Filed March 17. 1961 2Sheets-Sheet 1 VARIABLE SPEED B REVERSIBLE I MOTOR INVENI'QQ ADOAF(zwosmv TLAM/CHA Qgc, Li mse. Tlomiaha, EXQOLTP'QQ @Jdu v 615% Dec. 1,1964 A. J. TLAMICHA 3,158,983

DELUSTERED PLASTIC THREAD OR TEXTILE Original Filed March 17. 1961 2Sheets-Sheet 2 LUBRICANT lMPREGNAT|NG, E FINISHING 0R WATER 0R STEAMANTl-SNAG 7 MATERIAL PIVOTAL SUPPORT ARM I NV ENTOR ADOLF JAROSLAVTLAMICHA DL BY BFOXChX Xecutrh A TTORNEYS PatentedDec. l, 1964 3,158,983DELUSTERED PLASTIC THREAD R TEXTILE Adolf Jaroslav Tlamicha, deceased,late of Goeppingen, Germany, by Lihuse Antonie Tlamicha, sole heir andexccutrix, Goeppingcn, Germany Original application Mar. 17, 1961, Ser.No. 96,418, new Patent No. 3,140,526, dated July 14, 1964. Divided andthis application Mar. 18, 1964,Ser. No. 353,322

Claims priority, application Switzerlmd, Mar. 25, 1960,

. 3,23d/6tl 3 Claims. (Ci. 57-140) This application is a division oftheco-pending application Serial No. 96,418 of Adolf Jaroslav Tlamicha,file March 17, 1961, now U.S. Patent No. 3,140,526.

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus fordelustering monofilament or multifilament thread which is made of highlymolecular plastics, for example, polyamide.

In the manufacture of such plastic thread it is well- 7 high gloss whichis often regarded as very undesirable.

Although numerous efforts have been made to overcome this high gloss byspecial delustering agents and treatments, the results attained have sofar been very inadequate and unsatisfactory, especially also since theslight delustering which can possibly be attained diminishes or evendisappears entirely when the textile article has been in use for sometime. It is also known to deluster such plastic thread by roughening orabrading its outer surface. These known roughening or abrading methods,however, incur the danger that the surface of the thread will beroughened or abraded unevenly and only at one side, and often soseverely that the thread will break. This occurs particularly whenroughening or abrading multifilament thread. For want of a better methodof producing a lasting delustered effect, plastic multifilament threadhas even been roughened intentionally'to such an extent that some of theindividual threads are torn. Obviously, such uneven and severeroughening considerably impairs the mechanical properties of thethread,for example, it increases the ductility of the thread excessively anddecreases its tensile strength considerably.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a very simple methodand an inexpensive apparatus for delustering monofilament ormultifilament thread of highly molecular plastics, for example,polyamides, by superficially abrading or buffing the entire surface ofsuch thread uniformly on all sides throughout its length so that theoriginal circular cross section of the thread and its mechanicalproperties will remain unimpaired.

t For attaining the above-mentioned object, the plastic thread is passedtangentially over a rotating roughening or abradin' wheel in a directionoblique to the longitudinal axis of the wheel. Due to this tangentialmovement of the thread over the roughening wheel, the thread will beturned repeatedly about its own axis. For this purpose,

the thread is preferably passed once or repeatedly at an oblique angleover. a part of the peripheral surface of the rotating roughening wheelby feeding it either in thefdirection of the rotation of this wheel orinthe opposite direction. 1

By proceeding in this manner the plastic thread will be uniformly butonly superficially abraded or roughened g at all points on its outersurface and along its entire length so that the undesired gloss will becompletely and permanently eliminated. The dull finish of'thefthreadwill 'therefore remainduring its entire subsequent use. The rougheningor abrading operation renders the feel of the thread much softer so thatit can no longer be 2 distinguished from natural'yarn. Furthermore,since by the removal of the hard, shell-like outer surface, the

' new surface of the thread is much more porous, dyes will nier has adiameter of 48a and the thickness of the hard outer layer amounts toabout 5a. The toughening operation according to the invention is,however, so superficial as to reach only to a depth of about 0.5Therefore, the mechanical propertiessuch as the ductility and thetensile strength of the thread will not be impaired regardless ofWhether the thread is of the monofilament or multiiilament type,inasmuch as individual threads cannot possibly be damaged or torn, as itis the usual case when one of the known roughening operations is carriedout. It is furthermore a very great advantage over all previousdelustering methods that the roughening or abrading effect according tothe invention remains absolutely uniform over the entire length of thethread, that is, over a length of many thousands of meters. 1

The roughening operation according to the invention also does notrequire any separate working step since it may be carried out in thecourse of the necessary spooling or rewindingof the thread. The bobbinswill also be would much better and more uniformly since the layers ofthread which are wound upon each other no longer engage with each otheralong a surface but only at points. The thread may thus be unreeled muchmore easily, with less resistance, and more uniformly.

In accordance with the purpose or the kind of textile article for whichthe thread is to be used, it is advisable to vary the degree ofroughening the same. This may be done by different procedures, forexample, by means of an adjustable thread brake or by varying thelooping angle of the thread on the roughening wheel or by varying theratio between the speed of the thread feed and the adjustable peripheralspeed of the rotating, powerdriven roughening or abrading wheel, or bychanging the inclination between the axis of the roughening or abradingwheel and the direction of the threadthereon, or by a combination ofseveral of these procedures; By varying the degree of rougheningthethread, it is easily possible to attain textile products of differentappearance. Thus, for example, if the roughening operation is carriedout moreseverely, the thread will have a duller finish and the-coloreifect will be increased.

According to another feature of the invention, the plastic thread may besprayed either prior to, during, or after the roughening operation withone or several agents of the kind as subsequently mentioned. This may bedone by conventional spraying means. Spraying the thread with Watereither prior to or during the roughening operation is .of advantageespecially if the thread is relativelythick and if it extends around theroughening wheelat a large looping angle and excessive frictionalheating of the thread should be avoided 'by cooling it. Spraying .theplastic thread with steam softens the surface which is to be roughenedand therefore accelerates the roughening operation. Spraying the threadwith a lubricant such as ,oil, glycerin orthe like improves thefurtherworkability of the; thread, for example, itspassage'through atextile machine or its spooling upon abobbino'r its unreeling aasssssmesses V V f ing operation with an impregnating material, a finishingmaterial, or an antisnag material is of advantage if the thread is laterto be used, for example, for textiles which are to be provided witheither of these materials.

The apparatus for roughening or abrading 'monofilament or multifilamentthread in accordance with the inventive method comprises a rotating,power-driven roughening wheel or roller. The plastic thread is passedover this wheel or roller in a direction oblique to the longitudinalaxis thereof so as to engage with a part of its peripheral surface. Theroughening roller or wheel preferably consists, for example, of afine-grained silicon abrasive. Its speed of rotation is preferablyadjustable and the direction of its rotation is preferably reversible.

By passing the plastic thread at an oblique angle over a part of theperipheral surface of the roughening wheel, the thread will bepositively turned many times about its own axis. This turning insuresthat the entire surface of the thread will be uniformly roughened alongits entire length and that it will retain its circular cross section.After the roughening operation, the thread will either twist back to itsoriginal condition because of its inner resilience or it will remainmore or less twisted depending upon the distance provided between theroughening wheel and the bobbin or the textile machine.

The features and advantages of the present invention will become moreclearly apparent from the following detailed description which is to beread with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in whichFIGURE 1 shows a firont view of a rotating roughening or abrading wheeland of a guide pulley in the operation of roughening a plastic thread;

FIGURE 2 shows a side view of the arrangement according to FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 3 to 8 show diagrammatic views of difierent shapes f rougheningrollers or abrading wheels according to the invention;

FIGURE 9 shows a highly enlarged side view of a piece of a monofilamentthread prior to being roughened;

FIGURE 10 shows a similar View of the same piece of thread after beingroughened;

FIGURE 11 is a somewhat schematic front view of an abrading orroughening installation in accordance with the present invention,somewhat similar to FIGURE 1 herein and showing certain further featuresthereof; and

FIGURE 12 is a schematic partial front view, similar to FIGURES 1 and 11and showing a modified embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention.

As illustrated in FIGURE 1, the plastic thread 1 is applied tangentiallyupon a power-driven roughening or abrading wheel 2 in the direction ofarrow A, and it runs over a part of the peripheral surface of thiswheel, then over a guide pulley 3 'andthen again tangentially over theopposite side of the roughening wheel 2 from which it is either wound inthe usual manner upon a bobbin or passed directly to a textile machine.

As indicated in FIGURE 2, the plastic thread it is also passed in anoblique direction over the surface of roughening wheel 2. Due to thisoblique movement, the thread will be positively turned or twisted manytimes about its own axis so that its entire smooth shell-like outersurface as indicated in FIGURE 9 will be uniformly abraded or ground oifby the roughening or abrading wheel 2 and the thread will thereafterhave-a uniformly roughened appearance throughout its length, asindicated in FIG URE 10. Thisroughening or'abrading operation alsoresults in a thorough delustering of the thread, and the dull finishthus attained will remain permanently and the thread will never againbecome glossy. Since the surface of the thread is removed unifiormly andonly superficially, the thread will retain all of its important 7properties and advantages aspreviously described.

FIGURE 11 illustrates in front elevation a roughening I or abradinginstallation in accordance with the present -1I1V8l1tl0ll. The plasticfilament 1 supplied from any suitroughened may be varied by differentmeans.

able supply, for example, from bobbin 5 is fed, after passage through anadjustable brake 6 of conventional construction to the roughening orabrading wheel 2. In the course of the engagement of the filament 1 withthe surfaces of the roughening or abrading wheel 2, the surfaces of thefilament 1 are roughened or abraded as described above by the productionof microscopically small grooves. After leaving the roughening orabrading wheel 2, the filament 1 is then wound on bobbin 8 in anyconventional manner, for example, by the use of a reciprocating guideloop 9 of conventional construction. In order to enable a change in theangle that the filament 1 makes with the axis of the roughening orabrading wheel 2, adjustable eyelets or guide loops 7 are provided(FIGURES l, 2, and 11) which are so constructed and arranged as topermit the displacement of these guide loops 7 in the axial direction ofthe wheel 2. For example, as is wellknown, this may be achieved bymounting the loops 7 on threaded spindles which, in turn, engage withaxially stationary but rotatable internally threaded members. whereuponupon rotation in the one or the other direction, the axial position ofthe guide loops 7 may be selectively varied. However, it is understoodthat instead of such conventional adjusting arrangement, any other knownadjusting arrangement may be utilized.

In order to enable a change in the ratio between the feeding speed ofthe filament 1 and the peripheral speed of the roughening or abradingwheel 2, the latter is driven from any suitable adjustable drivingmeans, such as, a conventional variable speed electric motor 11. Toenable rotation of the wheel 2 in the direction B or C (FIGURE 1), theelectric motor 11 may also be of the reversible type though itunderstood that any other conventional reversing means may be used.

FIGURE 12 illustrates a front view of a modified arrangement, similar toFIGURES 1 and 11 in which the filament 1 is passed twice over the sameside of the roughening or abrading wheel 2 in mutually oppositedirections. Furthermore, in order to change the looping angle, that is,the are along which the filament l engages with the surfaces of theroughening or abrading wheel 2,

the guide pulley 3 may be mounted so as to vary its position relative tothe roughening or abrading wheel 2. This is indicated schematically inFIGURE 12 by the dash and dot are 14, whereby any suitable means may beutilized to adjustably move the pulley 3 along this are 14, for example,by providing a support arm for the pulley 3 which is rotatably orpivotally mounted about the axis of the wheel 2 in such a manner that itmay be secured in any desired position. Since such means are wellknownin the art, a detailed showing thereof is dispensed with herein. InFIGURE 11, reference numerals 20:; indicate schematically conventionalnozzles that may be used to spray the filament with water or steamwhereas nozzle 20b may be utilized to spray the filament with animpregnating, finishing or anti-snag material while nozzle 20c may beutilized to spray the filament 1 with a lubricant. 7 These nozzles areof conventional known construction and the particular location thereofis not limited to that shown schematically only in FIGURE 11.

The. degree to which the plastic thread 1 may be Thus, for example, itis possible to regulate the tension of the thread by means of theadjustable brake 6 (FIGURE 11) so that the frictional pressure at whichthe thread engages with the roughening wheel 2 may be adjusted at will.The degree of roughening may also be varied by changing the degree ofthe oblique angle between the direction of the thread and of thelongitudinal axis of the roughening wheel 2, by means of adjustableguide loops 7 (FIGURE 2) and also by changing the looping displacedalong the arcuate path 13 (FIGURE 12). In

the latter case, the plastic thread 1 may, for example, be

guided so as to pass both times over the same side of the rougheningwheel 2. For this purpose, guide pulley 3 may also be pivotally mountedabout the axis of the roughening or abrading wheel 2 by :anyconventional means operable to displace wheel 2 along the arcuate path14, as mentioned hereinabove, so that, when it is pivoted further awayfrom the side of the engagement of the thread with the roughening orabrading wheel 2, the looping angle of the thread or the length of itsengagement with the roughening wheel will be increased.

The degree of roughening is also dependent upon the variable differencebetween the feeding speed ofthe thread and the adjustable peripheralspeed of the roughening wheel 2 realized by varying the speed of motor11 (FIG- URE 2). A still further variation of the roughening action maybe attained by rotating the roughening wheel 2 either in the directionof arrow B, that is, opposite to the direction of feed of the thread, asindicated by arrow A, or by rotating the roughening wheel 2 in the samedirectilon as the thread feed, as indicated by arrow C, again realizedby means of the reversible motor 11 (FIGURE 2). tioned direction, thebobbins will be wound more tightly than when it is driven in thelast-mentioned direction.

In order to increase the twisting of the thread about its ownlongitudinal axis during the roughening or abrading operation, it hasalso been found advisable to make the roughening roller or abradingwheel 2 of a shape different from a cylindrical shape as shown in FIGURE2. Thus, for example, it may be'made in the shape of a frustum as shownin FIGURE 3, or of a double frustum in which the bases of the twofrustums face either toward each other, as shown in FIGURE 4, or inopposite directions, as shown in FIGURE 5. The roughening or abradingwheel may, however, also be of a convex, barrellike shape, as shown inFIGURE 6, or of a concave shape, as shown in FIGURE 7, or its centralpart may be made cylindrical and be provided with outwardly flaringflanges, as shown in FIGURE 8. By being fed over the roughening orabrading wheel at an oblique angle to the axis thereof, the plasticthread has in each of these wheel shapes the tendency to run toward theside with an increasing diameter and it will thus be positively twistedmany times about its own axis.

The threads of the present invention are, as mentioned above,monofilament or multifilament threads of highly If the roughening Wheelis driven in the first-mew molecular plastics, especially polyamides, onthe order of 20 denier or 49 diameter. The term filaments as usedhereinafter in the appended claims is to be considered limited to suchmonoand multifilament threads.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with referenceto the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood thatit is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments, but iscapable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claimis:

1. A delustered filament made of highly molecular plastics,characterized in that the surfaces thereof are provided substantiallyuniformly on all sides and over the entire length thereof withmicroscopic grooves produced by mechanically abrading the filament byengagement with abrading surfaces while simultaneously twisting saidfilament about its own longitudinal axis.

2. A delustered filament made of highly molecular plastics,characterized in that the surfaces thereof are provided substantiallyuniformly on all sides and over the entire length thereof withmicroscopic grooves produced by mechanically abrading the filament byengagement with abrading surfaces while simultaneously twisting saidfilament about its own longitudinal axis, said grooves having a depth ofabout 5 microns.

3. A delustered filament made of highly molecular plastics,characterized in that the surfaces thereof are provided substantiallyuniformly on all sides and over the entire length thereof withmicroscopic grooves produced References Cited by the Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,244,333 6/41 Hanse 28-67 X 2,781,555 2/57 MacHenry28-67 X 3,023,483 3/62 Steiner 161-180 X 3,088,188 5/63 Knudsen 161l80 X3,112,160 11/63 Rush 161-180 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

1. A DELUSTERED FILAMENT MADE OF HIGHLY MOLECULAR PLASTICS,CHARACTERIZED IN THAT THE SURFACES THEREOF ARE PROVIDED SUBSTANTIALLYUNIFORMLY ON ALL SIDES AND OVER THE ENTIRE LENGTH THEREOF WITHMICROSCOPIC GROOVES PRODUCED BY MECHANICALLY ABRADING THE FILAMENT BYENGAGEMENT WITH ABRADING SURFACES WHILE SIMULATANEOUSLY TWISTING SAIDFILAMENT ABOUT ITS OWN LONGITUDINAL AXIS.